Murphy taps former staffer for Menendez’ senate seat

☑ Murphy will appoint former chief of staff to U.S. Senate

☑ Bob Menendez to resign following bribery convictions

☑ George Helmy will serve as placeholder

Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to announce on Friday that his former chief of staff will act as placeholder in the U.S. Senate after Bob Menendez resigns.

The appointment of George Helmy to the seat brings to a close weeks of speculation about who Murphy would select to serve out the remainder of the term.

Helmy served Murphy for five years, the longest tenure of any chief of staff in New Jersey gubernatorial history.

He is largely credited for bringing stability and professionalism to the governor's office after a rough first year for Murphy, who had never held political office.

Murphy's first chief of staff, Peter Cammerano, resigned.

The New Jersey Globe was the first to report Murphy has selected Helmy for the U.S. Senate.

Who is George Helmy?

The 44-year old Mountain Lakes resident is married with two children.

Helmy attended Glen Ridge High School where he played football and basketball.

After attending Rutgers University, Helmy earned his master's degree from Harvard.

He was working as a small business owner when he was brought onto the staff of New Jersey U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg.

After leaving Murphy's staff, Helmy was appointed to serve as a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

He also serves as executive vice president and chief external affairs and policy officer at RWJBarnabas Health.

Reunited with former boss

Helmy is familiar with the workings of the U.S Senate having served first as an aide to the late Frank Lautenberg and then as state director for Sen. Cory Booker.

Booker revealed last week that he had spoken to Murphy about the vacant seat, and it is believed that Booker lobbied for Helmy to be the appointee.

The Globe reported that while many names were under consideration, Helmy was the top candidate from the beginning.

How long will Helmy serve in the Senate?

If Helmy were to finish out the remainder of Menendez' term, he would be in office for approximately five months.

The election for U.S. Senate will be decided in November.

Democratic Congressman Andy Kim (D-3rd) is facing Republican candidate and Cape May hotelier Curtis Bashaw.

There has been talk that Murphy would appoint the winner of that election to the seat formerly held by Menendez before the new session of Congress begins in January.

An early appointment would have advantages in terms of seniority in the Senate.

If that were to happen, Helmy would vacate the seat and be replaced by the election winner.

However, it is hard to imagine Murphy appointing Republican Bashaw if he were the election winner.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom